


For His Own Good

by Herminbean



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Advice, Female Doctor (Doctor Who), Gen, Internal Conflict, Mistakes, Self-Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 18:04:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herminbean/pseuds/Herminbean
Summary: The Doctor tends to think she knows best. But does she always?





	For His Own Good

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically because of a Tumblr post I made where I realised that in the newest series of Doctor Who the Doctor and her companions don't really have any conflict with each other. So I decided to write this short story

The Doctor looked over at her friend Ryan. He was looking over Yasmine’s shoulder at her phone as she skipped through the photos on her phone. They were always snapping pictures together when they were on different planets. They promised to not share them around, it was just for their own memories. The Doctor always found this strange. She was well over 2,000 at this point and she could still remember things she did when she was wearing her first ever face. Just how short term were human beings’ memories?

It had been a fairly standard adventure for them. Planet in crisis, a lot of people with questions, and even more running. This trip, however, it hit the Doctor just how much Ryan struggled sometimes. His dyspraxia usually wasn’t an issue, but this time the Doctor really noticed how hard he found it being up high. She had to use the TARDIS to help get him down in the end. She couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for him, constantly worrying that you might lose your balance and fall. If only she could show him, he could do anything the rest of them could.

She looked down at the console. A small smile spread across her face. Perhaps she could. He just needed to prove himself. He just needed a safety room.

The Doctor spun around and clapped her hands together getting everyone’s attention. “Right, gang. You ready for a new planet? Or space ship? Or something in between?”

Graham groaned slightly. “Right away? I’m not as young as you lot, remember. Need a breather every now and then.”

“Good point Graham. Well, except the not as young part.” The Doctor turned to the console and pressed a few buttons. “We’ll put the TARDIS on shuffle. This takes a bit of time, so you can have that breather you need.”

“Why does it take longer?” Yaz asked.

“Well, shuffle is a complicated thing when it comes to time, since it’s all kind of wobbly in the first place.”

“And since we always seem to land in random places anyway?” Graham said, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Exactly. Randomising randomness is extra random.” She tapped the console. “Hmm, we might need a bit more juice. Ryan, can you go into the hallway, take two…wait, three lefts, and turn the switch you find on the wall? You can’t miss it.”

Ryan immediately trotted off down the hall. If anything, he was super trusting. Graham, however, was still giving the Doctor a funny look.

“What’s the switch for Doc?” He asked.

“Oh, complicated TARDIS stuff. Trust me, this will be…”

The TARDIS lurched and the lights dimmed. Yaz’s eyes darted around in panic.

“What happened?” She said. “Did we land?”

“Erm, I don’t think so.” The Doctor tapped the console again. The lights raised slightly, but the room was noticeably darker. “I think the TARDIS is having a moment.”

“What does that mean?” Yaz asked. She looked down the hall. “What about Ryan? He was down there.”

The Doctor darted to the other side of the console. “Hang on, communications might still be up.” The console room screeched as the coms were activated. “Ryan? Ryan, can you hear me?”

A slight pause followed, and then Ryan’s unsure voice shortly after. “Doctor? What’s happening? I can’t see.”

“Listen carefully Ryan, the TARDIS is having a wobbler. I can’t do anything from here. But you, you’re in the perfect position to help.”

The Doctor glimpsed Graham out the corner of her eye. He looked concerned but was also giving the Doctor that incredulous look he sometimes got. 

“What do you mean? What can I do?” Ryan’s shaky voice filled the room.

“Keep moving forward. You should reach the engine room. The TARDIS will make sure of it. Just keep walking into you enter a room.”

There was silence once again. Fiannly, the sound of Ryan’s unsure footsteps echoed around them. The Doctor nodded to herself.

“That’s it, Ryan. Tell me when you get there.”

The steps were slow and laborious, but eventually they slowed to a stop and Ryan’s voice returned.

“I’m here, I think.”

“Good lad, hang on a second.” The Doctor punched a few more buttons and the screen lit up. It showed a large room with long pathway across an even Ryan stood clutching the walls. “We can see you Ryan. You’re in the engine room. I told you you could make it.”

Ryan looked around until he spotted the camera. He looked to the chasm then back to the camera.

“Doctor, that looks deep.” His voice was a squeak.

“I know Ryan, I’m sorry. I need you to…” She looked over to Graham. His face was fixed in the look Doctor didn’t like. She had to do this though. It was for his own good. “I need you to walk over and turn the lever. It’s the reset.”

Yaz darted over to the Doctor. “But, his dyspraxia. Doctor, this isn’t safe, let me go.”

Ryan’s voice was panicked. “I agree, let her come.”

The Doctor shook her head. “Total TARDIS lockdown. We can’t get there. It’s up to you, Ryan. You can do this. As soon as you get to the other side, I can teleport you back. You can do this.”

The TARDIS was filled with an anxious silence. The Doctor didn’t take her eyes off the screen. She watched her friend contemplate his predicament. She, of course hated to see him so scared, but this was for his own good. He just needed to see he could do this. 

Ryan took a few tentative steps closer to the path. He stumbled slightly, and clutched back to the wall, his breathing heavy. The Doctor kept watching. He could do this. He stepped forwards again and knelt down. Taking a deep breath, he began to crawl. Slowly but surely, he made his way to the edge, and began to cross the bridge. He was slow, but he was doing it. At one point he slipped and stumbled, but he managed to catch himself. The Doctor looked on, watching over her friend during every step. 

It felt like forever, but Ryan reached the end. He reached up, feeling for the lever. His hand gripped it and with one sharp tug he pulled it down. The Doctor leapt into action, pressing a button and once again the console room was illuminated. A few more presses, and Ryan fizzled from the screen, and a second later he was back in the console room with them. Yaz and Graham ran to his side.

“Ryan, are you OK?” Yaz wrapped her arms around him.

“You’re OK mate, you’re back now.” Graham put a comforting arm on his shoulder.

The Doctor trotted over to the, clapping her hands. “Ryan, you were fantastic.”

Ryan smiled at her shakily. “Yeah, I was rather, wasn’t I?” He stood shakily to his feet. “Rather not do that again though.”

“Oh don’t worry, I won’t be doing it again.” The Doctor said happily, patting him on the shoulder.

Ryan and Yaz exchanged glances. “Doing what again?” Yaz asked.

The Doctor was about to explain, but Graham beat her to it. “She staged the whole thing. The TARDIS was fine.” He shot a look at the Doctor. “Right Doc?”

Yaz gaped at the Doctor, “That…that’s not true, is it?”

The Doctor could sense the tone. “It’s OK, there was no danger. That was just an illusion, there was no real chasm. It was all safe.”

Ryan looked at her, bewildered. “But, why Doctor?”

“Ryan, you did it. You proved to all of us, including yourself, that you can overcome anything.” She smiled at them. “I knew you could.”

Ryan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Yaz was equally shocked. She put an arm around Ryan and began to lead him away.

“Come on Ryan, let’s get some rest.” She said to him.

The Doctor looked at them, confused. “Wait, guys. What about the planet?” She insisted.

Yaz turned to her and shook her head. “I think we’ve had enough adventure for today. Goodnight, Doctor.”

The two left the room and headed off down the hall. The Doctor turned to Graham. He had a mixed look on his face. A cross between cross and sympathetic. 

“I’d let them go if I were you, Doc.” He said.

“Are they mad at me?” The Doctor asked, concerned. 

Graham let out a short laugh. “I should think so, yeah.”

The Doctor slumped against the console. “I just thought…I wanted to help.”

Graham walked over next to her and leant against the console as well. “I know.”

She looked up at Graham. “You knew. The whole time, you knew?”

Graham smiled sadly and looked around the TARDIS. “I recognised it. Grace had the same energy as you when she used to do it.”

The Doctor lowered her head. It wasn’t often Graham spoke about Grace, but when he did it hit the Doctor hard. “She used to push him as well?”

“Oh all the time. Mostly with the bike. I remember the first time she took him out with me. She always used to hold him up with her hand. One day, she let go. She didn’t tell him and off he went. It was the furthest he had ever gone on his own.”

The Doctor smiled. “That must have felt nice.”

“Oh, it did. Right up until he turned around and saw she had let go. He freaked, he fell, and he yelled.” Graham laughed. “Of course, Grace would have none of it at first. Insisted it was for his own good. And it was, really.”

“That’s what I mean. I knew I liked Grace.”

Graham turned sadly to the Doctor. “Here’s the thing though. Ryan wasn’t mad about being pushed. He was mad at the deception. It made him feel stupid. Or at least it made it seem like we thought he was stupid. Funnily enough, people push back more if you treat them like children.”

The Doctor lowered her gaze. “I guess I do do that.”

“You do.” Graham pushed him away from the console. “Not your fault. To you, we must seem like children.”

The Doctor shrugged sadly. “I do want to protect you and see you succeed.”

“And that’s no bad thing.” Graham knelt down and put a hand on the Doctors shoulder. “That’s what us parents do.”

The Doctor looked up at Graham. He had a smile on his face, and the Doctor couldn’t help but smile back. He got up and made his way to the hall. The Doctor shot to her feet.

“Graham.” She called afeter him.

Graham turned to her. “Yeah?”

“How long did it take Ryan to forgive Grace?”

Graham smirked. “The next morning. Don’t worry Doc, they’ll get over it. I think sometimes we just forget how alien you are, you know?”

Graham walked from the console room leaving the Doctor alone. The Doctor mulled over the words Graham had said. She really was alien to these guys. Sometimes she forgot that. Sometimes her way wasn’t always the best for them. And sometimes it took them to remind her of that.


End file.
